Dear Oblivion (I am Lost)
by AquaLux Divine
Summary: She spent the first 17 years of her life sickly and weak, but she had been happy. Now, she was healthy and strong, but she was drowning in a world of loneliness and grief with no end in sight. - OC story. Drama, angst, possible romance, a bit of everything, etc -
1. Prologue

**Hello there, and welcome to what is my first attempt at a Tokyo Ghoul fanfiction. Before we get into the story, I would like to say that this is unbeta'd, edited by myself, so please inform me if you spot any errors. Secondly, as for the plot and direction of this fic, I only have a very loose idea of where I want to go with it, and it's a very experimental idea to begin with. Meaning, I'm not sure how often I'll be updating this, because right now I'm uncertain as to whether I want it to be a long-term project or just something I throw out there just to see what happens.**

 **As of right now, I have also not read much of the manga, but I plan to rectify this as soon as possible because I would like to follow the manga's story, at least to an extent, should I continue this.**

 **I do not own Tokyo Ghoul, in any way, shape, or form. This plot and these OCs are definitely mine, however.**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE/INTRODUCTORY**

She never intended for this to happen. This wasn't what she wanted, not by a long shot. Her sister was the most important person in her life, the only one in her small world who was truly capable of understanding her. The bond between them was something that could never be broken – at least, that's what Yuzumi had thought for the meager seventeen years that she had been alive.

She had always figured, had always believed that she would die first, and she was fine with that as long as she had her elder twin sister by her side until that fateful day. Rio, her sister, she was tough. There was no doubt in Yuzumi's mind that she would be able to keep on living her life even after she was gone. After all, despite how much they cared for each other, there was no denying the fact that Yuzumi was the weaker of the two, the one who always needed protecting. It was sad to lose a loved one, but Rio would really be better off without having to worry day and night about her sickly younger sister.

Yuzumi was ready to die. The moment her legs stopped working correctly, the moment she lost the ability to stand on her own two feet, she knew she was more than ready. If she had been a burden before, then what was she after? Spending her entire life like that, crippled before eighteen? If it wasn't for the fact that her body was already deteriorating, dying faster than any healthy person should, she would have put the gun to her temple and pulled the trigger herself.

She almost did once, admittedly. When the struggle of trying to live in her own frail body became too much to take, and she was at her wits end, her sister had found her with a knife leveled at her wrist, ready to end it all. Rio had been understandably furious, and Yuzumi wouldn't ever forget the way she had slapped the blade from her shaking hands, taking her by her thin shoulders and shaking her until she came back to her senses.

After that Yuzumi didn't ever try to take her own life again. The look in Rio's eyes, the fear and desperation that they had held had been more than enough to set her straight. She didn't ever want to see someone who was as strong, dependable, admirable and important as her sister looking like that again.

However, if Yuzumi had known about the decision that Rio would come to make in the future, she probably would have taken that knife to her wrist again and again, as many times as it took until she stopped breathing.

Rio was capable of living without Yuzumi. She had shown she could many times over. As cold as it sounded, she didn't need a crippled little sister to weigh her down.

Yuzumi, however, knew she couldn't survive without Rio. She knew little about the world, she had depended on her sister her entire life because she had no other option – she wasn't anywhere near ready to embark on a new life without that guidance.

The bond between sisters was a strong one. The bond between twins was even stronger. Throw in a weak and helpless younger twin into the mix, and there's nothing that can sever that link, aside from death.

…

Rio was the only person in Yuzumi's life who could raise her spirits, the only person she trusted.

Rio was the one person who could not be replaced.

Rio was everything Yuzumi wanted to be.

Rio was dead.

And Yuzumi was the reason why.


	2. Chapter One

**Here you go, the prologue and Chapter One at the same time.**

 **Oh, and the story's title may be subject to change later on. So is the rating, possibly.**

 **I do not own Tokyo Ghoul, in any way, shape, or form. This plot and these OCs are definitely mine, however.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

.

 _It was noisy. Night had fallen, but the streets of Tokyo were still bustling with people walking to and fro, each with their own destination in mind. In a place as crowded as this, few were expecting anything vile to happen - no sane ghoul would attack in a setting such as this._

 _However, while the lively city streets remained relatively safe, that was not where the heart-pounding action was happening._

 _In a deserted back alley, isolated from the main city, a terrified scream erupted from the darkness. The cry of fright was punctuated by the sound of frenzied pants and hurried footsteps, and the reek of fear was almost palpable in the air, obvious to any animal that was keen enough to pick it up. The man was running for his life, but it was not a wild animal in pursuit. It was something much, much worse._

 _He was scared, so scared, to the point where he may have soiled himself. It was clear he knew what his role in this chase was. He was so used to being the one doing the pursuing, always with a sadistic smile plastered on his face as he stalked his quarry, eyes dull and dead as his victims after he was done with them. The tables had turned on him now, however. He was no longer the predator._

 _Now he was the prey._

 _"Oh please God, no," the voice was scratchy and hoarse from the physical exertion his body was undergoing, but he didn't have any control over his vocal chords. The words slipped out without his consent, and his mental focus had long since become too broken and fragmented to think straight._

 _The things a person says when their minds were clouded by fear… he had never been one to believe in something as fickle as a God, but now that his life was endangered like this, he was begging to whatever deity would hear him._ 'Please spare me, I don't want to die!'

 _It was as if, in that moment, he had forgotten all he had done to torment the world. As if he wasn't a rapist, a murderer, and a thief. He was begging some higher power to overlook all of his sins and his wrongdoings, and why? Because he believed he was worth being saved? He had never once lived honestly in his life, and now that he was in a similar position as his former victims, he could only hope that someone, anyone would have mercy on him._ 'I won't hurt anyone anymore! I'll turn myself in! Please, just don't kill me!'

 _But the odds weren't in his favour, as he learned in that moment as he spotted a flash of sinister red zeroing in on him. He only had a second to offer his last prayer to a deity that refused to listen to him –_ 'I'm sorry, so sorry, please don't' _– a jarring impact struck him right through back of the neck, impaling him and severing the delicate spinal cord with swift precision. He dropped down to his knees a second later after the crimson-coloured appendage separated from his flesh, before falling down face first onto the concrete below._

 _His silent assailant emerged from the shadows from behind, footsteps muted and light. They stopped at the man's feet, watching with eyes hidden behind a red and black devil's mask as blood pooled quickly but steadily from the fresh wound. Two long, thin appendages curled inward from the tail-bone area, as red as the liquid spilling from the body at their feet._

 _"You thought you'd never be caught," the voice was muffled by the mask, but it was undeniably cold and very matter-of-fact. "Of all the people in the world, your kind are the ones I've always despise the most. You're disgusting. You deserved this."_

 _As the figure bent down to lift one of the dead man's arms, they muttered one last thing to his lifeless body, lifting the bottom of the mask upwards to expose their mouth as they spoke. "You've had this coming to you for a long time - you have no one to blame but yourself. And I," they bared their teeth, getting ready to bite down, "I need to eat. No hard feelings."_

 _._

 _._

* * *

" _\- this recent string of ghoul attacks is rather curious, in my opinion."_

The voice that came over the news report playing on the old TV set finally jerked Yuzumi's attention away from the fashion magazine she had been mindlessly flipping through. She carefully set the flimsy book down upon the table she was sitting at, focusing entirely on the report.

" _How so? It seems like the normal kind of behaviour we'd expect from them to me,"_ the woman who was speaking had an air of repugnance about her, and it was clear to see she held nothing but disdain for the ghouls. The other person, a man, seemed more thoughtful about the subject than anything else.

" _Well, think about this: the victims lately have mostly been registered sex offenders and criminals of other charges, or they were very highly suspected of such things."_ The man on the TV tapped his chin once, and then added on, _"In fact, the body that was discovered earlier this week was that of a fugitive that had escaped from a nearby prison nearly a month ago. He was killed by a ghoul."_

" _It's nothing more than a coincidence,"_ the woman scoffed, _"ghouls go after whoever they please. They don't have any morals -"_

Before Yuzumi could hear the rest of what the woman had to say, a hand reached out and pressed the 'off' button on the aged TV, effectively tearing her attention away from the report. The ginger-haired girl's eyes shifted to the owner of the hand, and a small, almost imperceptible pout formed on her lips.

"What now, Keiko?" Was the only thing that she said to the brunette standing, with her hands now on her hips, next to the very outdated TV set.

"I'm sick of hearing about all these ghoul attacks! Everywhere I go, someone's talking about it!" Keiko made large frustrated hand gestures as she spoke, the frown on her face much more prominent than Yuzumi's little pout.

"They're clearly becoming a problem for a lot of people, Keiko," Yuzumi replied, and was met with a roll of the eyes.

"Then the CCG should pick up their act! What have they been doing while this has been happening, sitting around and playing Go Fish?" Ah, and there it was. Keiko had a good heart, but she had next to no thought-to-speech filter. She often came off as offensive because she just didn't think.

Yuzumi sighed and stood up, picking up the long-empty mug next to the forgotten magazine and moving into the kitchen where she placed it next to the growing collection of other mugs. "I don't know, why don't you go ask them?" She retorted before coming back around into the living area. "But besides that Keiko…" she quickly changed the topic before the other could start something,

"What are you doing in my apartment again?"

Keiko's petulant expression quickly changed into a severely pouty one, but when Yuzumi gave no outward response, she just sighed and whined softly, "Come on, you know why. It's so boring over there when Reika is at school!"

Yuzumi's eyes narrowed. Reika was Keiko's younger sister, and they lived in the apartment across the hall from her. Now, she had no doubt that Keiko got bored over there by herself, but she also knew that the young woman was plenty capable of finding something to entertain herself with. Yuzumi could see right through her – she knew Keiko was worried about her. Hell, she had been since they first met when Yuzumi first moved in a few months back. Keiko was really the nosy type, and she was difficult to lie to on top of that. She knew this was the older woman's way of showing concern – constantly coming over uninvited and demanding Yuzumi's attention. Maybe she saw her as another younger sister of sorts, she really didn't know.

The thing was, though… Yuzumi didn't want or need an older sister. She appreciated Keiko's concern, but that was where she drew the line. She was physically capable of tending to her own needs now. She didn't need to be watched over constantly.

"So you decide to come over here…? I'm not much better company than a brick wall, Keiko." It wasn't a complete lie. Yuzumi never had much to say, and she avoided other people like they were the plague whenever she could. She never could figure out why someone like Keiko liked her company.

Keiko once again rolled her eyes – she did that a lot, Yuzumi noticed – and shook her head in an obviously exasperated manner. "Give yourself more credit, Yuzu. You're not that bad."

"I am though. The only reason I don't avoid you is because you won't let me… and please don't call me that. I prefer Yuzumi."

"Aaaand there you go again." Keiko walked over and placed her hands on Yuzumi's shoulders, who flinched ever so slightly but didn't move away. If Keiko noticed the action, she didn't say anything, and just kept talking. "You always say things like that. Can't you ever say anything, I don't know… positive?"

Yuzumi fidgeted and looked away. "…you make it sound like I never have anything positive to say at all…"

Keiko stepped away reluctantly. "Sometimes it really seems like it, Yuzu. When's the last time you smiled? And I don't mean those fake little smiles you put on for Reika and I. I mean an actual, genuine smile. I don't think I've heard you laugh either, aside from a little chuckle, and I'm not entirely convinced those aren't faked too. You act like there's nothing good left in the world."

Yuzumi didn't respond. This wasn't the first time Keiko had brought up this – but whenever she did, it always left her not knowing what to say. Sometimes all she could was marvel at how blunt the other was. The first time Keiko had said something like that, it had been just a week after they had met, and Yuzumi had been thoroughly floored by it.

Even right now, Yuzumi was a bit clueless as to how the conversation had turned so serious so quickly. She supposed that was just how Keiko was.

"Look, Yuzumi," the use of her full first name had her looking up in surprise. Keiko was giving her an empathetic look. "I don't know what happened to make you like this, but it can't be that bad, right? You're like what, eighteen, almost nineteen? That's too young to go around looking like you've lost all faith in the world."

Yuzumi knew she had a point. She knew that. But at the same time, just like she had said herself, Keiko didn't know what she had been through. She didn't get it, and Yuzumi couldn't think of any way to tell her. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to, or if she was ready to. She was clearly still struggling to come to terms with it herself.

"Keiko, I…" she trailed off, uncertain.

And besides… how would Keiko even handle hearing what Yuzumi had to say? She wasn't ready for the judgemental stare she was positive she would get, and that was an indisputable fact. She hadn't known Keiko that long, and she always acted reserved around her, but that wasn't because of Keiko herself. Yuzumi kept a deliberate amount of distance between them, but even so, she still considered the woman something of a friend. She had wormed her way into her life, and now there was no easy way to get away from her.

"I just – I don't - " Keiko held up a hand, and Yuzumi fell silent.

"I'm not asking you to tell me everything right here and now. You're my friend, whether you see me as the same or not doesn't matter. I won't force you," Keiko looked at Yuzumi with a serious look, and Yuzumi felt like a child under that stare. "But I'm still here to listen if you need me to."

Again, this was something that Yuzumi had heard before, but each new time Keiko said it, it made her feel even guiltier than she did before. Keiko was the type who wanted to fix problems, and Yuzumi knew that she wanted to help her too. But this was a problem that someone like Keiko couldn't fix. This wasn't something that wouldn't get better by just talking about it.

' _It's not that simple,'_ Yuzumi thought bitterly. _'But that doesn't mean I don't wish it was.'_

"Thanks, Keiko," she finally said, finding her voice again. "I needed to hear that." She sounded so lifeless to her own ears, and everything about this felt rehearsed. How many times had she replied to Keiko's kindness in such a way? Too many times. It felt like all her words were empty, and she hated that fact.

"It's what I'm here for," Keiko grinned, and suddenly the atmosphere brightened up again and Yuzumi was left pondering once again how Keiko could alter the mood so easily with just a few words and a smile. It was something that only one other person in her life had been able to do, and that was – "Oi, Yuzu! Are you listening to me?"

There was a hand being waved in front of her face, and Yuzumi batted it away on reflex. "What?" She asked, focusing on the here and now.

Keiko once again rolled her eyes – and Yuzumi was tempted to tell her that her eyes would stay like that if she kept it up – and rephrased what Yuzumi had obviously missed the first time. "I said you and I should head to the bookstore."

Yuzumi blinked, not following Keiko's intentions. "Okay… but why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" Keiko moved over to the front door and snatched Yuzumi's coat from the coatrack. She threw it at her, and smirked. "You obviously have nothing interesting to read if you've been looking at _that._ " She pointed to the fashion magazine that sat forgotten on the table. Keiko walked back over and picked it up, shaking it in front of Yuzumi's face. "This is from three years ago, too!"

"…so what?" Yuzumi mumbled, inwardly sulking as she stared at the coat in her arms. "It's interesting enough."

"You are a horrible liar, Yuzu. I know you don't care about stuff like this, so why're you pretending?" Keiko shook her head in exasperation, making a 'you're hopeless' gesture with her arms as she did. "So come on! Put that coat on and let's get going!" Keiko came up behind Yuzumi and started pushing her toward the door impatiently. "Plus, Reika is going to be back from school soon, and I'd rather not be here when she gets back. She's going through that 'rebellious teenager' phase right now! She's the devil's spawn after school, I'm telling you!"

Yuzumi just let herself be shoved forward, knowing it was useless to argue. Keiko always somehow got her way. Yuzumi often found herself being pulled around at her – mostly – ridiculous whims.

"… I know we're the only ones living on this floor, but I'm seriously starting to regret not locking my door this morning."

"Oh hush! You know you love books! That or you're just an anti-social shut in who'd rather pretend the real world doesn't exist… but either way, you could use the fresh-air and the exercise!"

" … "

* * *

"… I haven't read this one before…" Yuzumi mumbled to herself, tracing her finger along the spine of a decently large novel. She was actually somewhat grateful to Keiko for dragging her out of her apartment. The woman was right – she really did need some new reading material. She pulled the book from its place on the shelf and opened up to the first page, reading through the first page or two.

Keiko had wandered off somewhere deeper into the store, leaving Yuzumi to her own devices. She didn't really mind. Yuzumi knew that Keiko wasn't overly into literature. She was likely off looking for some guy to chat up, that seemed like something she would do while her friend was occupied.

A pang of guilt seized Yuzumi. The fact that she knew Keiko didn't really like reading, and yet decided to come here to a bookstore anyway, just for her sake… Keiko was always doing things like this. She probably had other things she'd rather be spending her time doing, and yet here she was. Sometimes Yuzumi wanted to curse her kindness, because how was she supposed to repay the favour? What did she have to give?

"Why does she do these things…?" Yuzumi murmured to herself, her mood sinking again. She carefully placed the book back onto the shelf, deciding that it wasn't for her.

' _I just don't get her,'_ she thought as she turned to go browse elsewhere.

A little while later as she was wandering the store a little aimlessly, still looking for a suitable new book, she caught sight of a book that was lying open and face down on the floor. It was next to a revolving rack, and she deduced that it had probably fallen off when someone had turned it while looking for a book.

Yuzumi walked over with the intention of putting it back where it belonged, sighing. The fact that no one had noticed it yet or had decided to pick it up left her feeling a little exasperated. She retrieved it, and then set about putting it away.

What should have been a simple task turned out to be something much more when she placed the book in the rack, only to have part of it collapse under the sudden added weight. In a few short seconds, gravity had done its job annoyingly well, and the whole section of the rack facing her was now on the floor.

Several books lay at her feet, and she stared down at them numbly. The few people nearby had turned to see what the noise was all about – because books can't fall quietly, can they? – and Yuzumi felt her face burn pink with embarrassment and annoyance as she knelt down to pick the fallen books up.

She should have just left that damn book on the floor.

She quickly gathered them into small stacks, and she was just reaching for the last one when someone else reached down and plucked it up. Her gaze lifted in mild surprise, and her light brown irises met with gray. The two of them froze at the sudden eye contact, but it was the young man who looked away first, holding the book out to her with a quick apology.

Yuzumi accepted the book and placed it on top of the last stack, before standing up. The gray-eyed male, with hair as dark as midnight stood up as well. They stood awkwardly for a few seconds before Yuzumi remembered her manners and mumbled out a quiet,

"Um, thank you." Ugh, even her voice sounded strained and awkward. She glanced down, away. This was why she didn't like talking to strangers. She never knew how to act.

"You're welcome. I mean, it was nothing," the young man sounded just as awkward as she did, and that did make her feel a bit more relaxed. At least there were others out there who were just as socially inept as she was. She lifted her head to get a better look at him.

Normal. He looked normal. Maybe even a bit plain, but with a bit of cute charm that likely came from his awkward behaviour. Yuzumi briefly wondered whether if that was how others saw her as well.

When he started to fidget slightly, Yuzumi realized she'd been staring a bit too long, and immediately dropped her gaze again, forcing out a chuckle that was mainly an attempt to diffuse some of the tension and ever-present awkwardness. If anything, it just made it worse. She cursed herself, but then noticed for the first time that he was holding a book under an arm.

Its title was familiar. So was the author. She blinked at it, realizing it was one she had read before. "You read Takatsuki Sen's works too…?" She found herself uttering aloud. Realizing she had blurted that out unintentionally, colour rushed back into her face, and she rubbed the back of her head nervously.

Because her head was lowered and she was still avoiding eye contact, Yuzumi missed his eyes widening slightly in surprise. Feeling embarrassed, she quickly added, "I-I mean, it's not that uncommon, right? She is pretty well known…" she let out a little laugh, nerves all over the place. She felt like she was just digging herself deeper and deeper into this hole of social ineptitude.

"She's actually my favourite author," Yuzumi heard him say. The words caught her attention, and it was enough to have her lifting her gaze back up to him. There was a small, unsure smile upon his lips, and she then realized that she had perhaps said just the right thing, even if it had been by mistake.

"Ah, she is? She does have a way with words…" Yuzumi murmured. Daring to take a chance, she hesitantly inquired, "So then… which of her works is your favourite? I personally favour _'Dropped Box.'_ "

What in the world was she doing? Talking to a complete stranger? How out of character was this for her? Yet at the same time, there was no way Yuzumi could deny that she was intrigued by this man who had a shared interest in an author she had come to really like.

Plus, it couldn't really hurt in the long run, right? It wasn't like she would ever see him again after this day. He was just another customer who was browsing the same shop she was, who just so happened to like the same things she did. It was nothing more, nothing less really.

"' _The Black Goat's Egg',_ " he replied to her question. She noticed he was gradually becoming less nervous, and it helped her to do the same. This wasn't so bad. A simple conversation about mutual interests was completely innocent. "It's a really good read. I recommend it if you haven't read it before." He seemed to think of something right after, because the next words out of his mouth were spoken somewhat hastily, " _'Dropped Box'_ was really good too, though. I can see why it would be a favourite."

Yuzumi found herself smiling. It was more of a tiny upturn of the lips to be exact, for the most part only obvious to those who were fairly familiar with her usual facial expressions. It was still there though, and it meant something. She nodded at his words, about to respond to him – but she was unfortunately interrupted before she could even start, by a middle-aged woman clearing her throat behind Yuzumi.

It was then that Yuzumi suddenly remembered that they were standing, loitering and chatting in the middle of a bookstore while others around them were trying to browse. It seemed that her new conversation partner realized the same thing at the same time she did, because they both simultaneously stepped aside and apologized at the same time, his being hasty and undoubtedly apologetic, while hers was quiet and more subdued. The woman just sniffed in response and strutted past them, and Yuzumi caught her words, _'absolutely no consideration these days'_ as she rounded a corner.

Silence reigned between Yuzumi and the stranger whom she still didn't have a name for. For a moment, she was fearful that the atmosphere would become stuffy and awkward again, but that fear was unmet when a quiet chuckle erupted from the man next to her. She turned her head to give him a quizzical look, and he almost seemed to shy away from it, before explaining, "Sorry. Um, it's just a little funny."

"What is?" Yuzumi asked, wondering what was amusing to him because it certainly wasn't obvious to her.

"It's just that we both seemed to realize where we were at the same time," he explained, and Yuzumi felt a certain pang, a voice telling her, _'what did you think he meant? You thought he was laughing at you?'_ And to be completely honest, for a moment she had considered that yes, he found her reaction funny. She scolded herself for almost jumping to conclusions.

"Ah, yeah," she agreed, still not sure how it was exactly funny but deciding to just agree with him anyway, "I guess it was kind of funny."

Yuzumi supposed, if she thought about it, that it could be considered a little amusing. It's just that she wasn't really the type to notice the humour in things like that. Maybe she really should get out more often.

"But maybe having a conversation in the middle of a bookstore isn't the best idea," she murmured suddenly, "We're clearly in the way…"

The man agreed, and said something that likely pertained to her own statement, but Yuzumi's attention was drawn away by something over his shoulder, her eyes meeting with the peculiar sight of none other than Keiko, who was ducking down behind a bookshelf a few feet away. The woman was beaming at Yuzumi triumphantly, giving her a thumb up gesture. Yuzumi responded with a confused look, wondering what the hell Keiko was up to now.

Keiko frowned and began to make wild hand gestures that only served to puzzle Yuzumi even more. However, it wasn't long before she was able to come to the conclusion, somehow, that based on her friend's unorthodox actions and obnoxious hand flailing, that Keiko wanted Yuzumi to… ask for this man's phone number?

Yuzumi's expression went flat at the realization, and Keiko smirked, knowing her point had finally made it across. Damn Keiko and her incessant nosiness – just because she was talking to someone of the male gender, didn't mean something was going on. She didn't have time to think to long about it or go over and confront her meddling friend though, because the young man in front of her had finally noticed her distraction.

"Is everything okay…?" He phrased the question hesitantly, and even glanced over his shoulder where Yuzumi had been looking not two seconds ago. Keiko had conveniently disappeared by this point, leaving Yuzumi feeling incredibly annoyed.

"Y-yes, I'm sorry. I just thought I saw something, but it was nothing," Yuzumi quickly explained. She suddenly felt the desire to get out of here, before Keiko resorted to more drastic measures. She desperately tried to think of a way to excuse herself without coming off as rude, but instead she just ended up blurting, "So um, what was your name again?"

Oh God. Well, her social skills – or lack thereof – weren't the greatest, obviously. She cursed herself again, wanting to go hide in a hole and never re-emerge. She was positive he'd never introduced himself to begin with for one thing, but this was how she handled trying to end a conversation? Yuzumi was positive Keiko was shaking her head in disappointment from where she was, listening in on the two of them.

The man seemed surprised at the sudden inquiry of his name, but still gave it nonetheless. "Ah, Kaneki. Ken. K-Kaneki Ken." Some of his own awkwardness sprang up again as he introduced himself, but it seemed to fade just as quickly when he saw how mortified Yuzumi was as a result of the blunt and clearly not thought out question she had just asked.

"Right, right…" Yuzumi mumbled, trying to play her nervousness off, "it's nice to meet you. Ah, and I'm Kazuhara Yuzumi. Or Yuzu, some people call me that too." She clamped her mouth shut before she could say anything else.

Kaneki smiled, and Yuzumi blinked. Seemingly out of nowhere, she had the urge to continue conversing with him. There was something about him that made her step out of her social shell. She couldn't pin point why exactly, but if she had to guess she would probably say that it was because she had spent so much time to herself, never engaging anyone in conversation –aside from Keiko, but she hardly counted – and that she was just craving interaction with someone who shared her interests.

"So," Yuzumi fidgeted, toying with the idea of maybe actually asking for this man's phone number. Just so they could talk about and recommend books to one another, she told herself - Keiko may take such a thing an entirely different way, but Yuzumi wasn't interested in relationships or cute guys at this point in her life. She just thought that it may possibly be nice to talk to someone who wasn't Keiko for once - someone who could actually understand and keep up with her when she wanted to talk about her favourite books and the characters within them.

Kaneki was looking expectantly at her, curiosity and mild confusion dancing in his gray eyes. He was waiting for her to finish what she was about to say, while she was struggling with herself internally.

"I was wondering if…" Yuzumi swallowed, pushed down her nerves and filed them away to fret over later. "I'd like to discuss Takatsuki's works more with you at some point… or maybe just books in general? I –"

A high-pitched, excited giggle erupted from behind Kaneki then, and both he and Yuzumi jolted in surprise. Kaneki turned on his heel to see what it was all about, and was met with Keiko's grinning face. Yuzumi felt instant dread the moment she saw her, and suddenly remembered why she had been itching to leave before.

Yuzumi had missed her chance and now Keiko was about to humiliate her in some way, somehow.

Keiko sauntered around Kaneki to get to Yuzumi, throwing her arm around the ginger-haired woman's shoulders and leering suggestively at the young man.

"What Yuzu really wants here is your number, mister," Keiko nearly crowed, paying no mind to the stricken and furious look she received from her friend.

"Keiko, no," Yuzumi hissed, but was ignored. "Stop it!"

Kaneki's facial expression had gone from surprised to confused in just a few short seconds from when Keiko appeared. But after hearing what Keiko had said after that, his face was quick to turn a vibrant shade of pink, and Yuzumi knew she had to do something before Keiko ruined everything.

"No, no!" Yuzumi raised her voice slightly, frantic and trying desperately to explain, "It's not like that. Ignore Keiko, she doesn't know what she's talking about. I just thought it would be nice to have someone to discuss books with, that's all. Please don't get the wrong idea."

She fell silent upon noticing that a few people had stopped to look at the situation occurring within earshot. Some women were giggling to themselves, having heard everything, while others shook their heads in disapproval or annoyance.

Damn it, she couldn't go anywhere without Keiko causing a commotion, could she?

Keiko had quietened as well, and Kaneki was looking anywhere but at the two women before him. He was clearly also embarrassed by the whole thing, and Yuzumi had a hard time blaming him.

"You're no fun, Yuzu," Keiko finally spoke up indignantly after several moments of more awkward silence. "I was just trying to do you a favour. You were clearly going to take forever to get to the point, so I figured I would step in."

"I was working my way there," Yuzumi bit out forcefully. "You just made everything awkward all over again."

Keiko just shrugged. "Well, he got the point, didn't he?" She gestured to Kaneki who had just worked up the nerve to look at Yuzumi and Keiko again, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"Ugh," that was all Yuzumi bothered to reply with, deciding to ignore Keiko so she could properly apologize to the young man who had just been subjected to her friend's ridiculous whims.

"I'm really sorry about this whole thing," Yuzumi felt heat creep up onto her face as she apologized, bowing. Why did she have a friend like Keiko again?

Right. The woman didn't give her a choice.

"Ah, n-no, it's okay," Kaneki held up his hands in a small 'don't worry' gesture, though it seemed somewhat forced. Yuzumi inwardly cursed Keiko again. Not only did the woman most likely ruin a potential friendship, but now he probably though pretty poorly of her as well. "But, if you still don't mind… maybe we could talk some more?"

"What?" Yuzumi froze for a split second, numbly aware that she had uttered that word aloud. She quickly straightened back up, ignoring the way Keiko seemed to be having the time of her life beside her. "Are you sure? I actually really didn't mean it like that you know –"

"I know," Kaneki said the words without a trace of awkwardness, his tone steady. Ah, maybe not all was lost after all. "Like you said, it would be nice to talk with someone else who shares a common interest."

Yuzumi couldn't believe her ears. He actually wanted to talk some more with her. Someone who wasn't Keiko or Keiko's sister Reika actually wanted to talk to her. She had truthfully been expecting her request to be shot down.

What a strange yet nice turn of events.

"Okay then," Yuzumi reached into her coat pocket and retrieved her phone. "So, should we do this then?" A tad bit of uncertainty still clung to her words, but a side glance at Keiko told her that she shouldn't worry about it.

A few short moments later, and Yuzumi was staring down at the unfamiliar contact in her phone's database. She blinked at it, as if expecting it to disappear. It didn't. A strange feeling swelled inside her, and she wondered if this was what it was like to make a new friend – one who didn't barge into her life unannounced and made themselves at home, like Keiko had. This was a friendship, or at least the start of one, that she had initiated herself.

The ghost of a happy feeling started to bloom inside her, and she looked up at Kaneki with a small, but genuine smile. "Thank you." She felt compelled to say, and then felt a bit silly for thanking him for giving her his phone number.

Still, it was an important moment for her.

Kaneki rubbed at the back of his neck somewhat bashfully, but returned the smile. "Ah, you're welcome."

"Great, now that's been taken care of," Keiko spoke up loudly, and Yuzumi started in surprise since she had been so quiet before. "Yuzu, have you picked out a new book yet? I'm getting bored, and this new book smell is starting to give me a headache."

Yuzumi's little smile grew, flooring Keiko. "I have, actually," she cast a knowing look at Kaneki, "I just need to find it."

* * *

"I can't believe you actually have a guy's number," Keiko uttered, sounding utterly astounded. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Yuzumi just sighed and shook her head as the two made the walk back to their apartment complex. "I told you, Keiko, it's just so we can talk and make book recommendations to each other." She was toting a bag around her left wrist, and inside was a hard cover book entitled _'The Black Goat's Egg'._

"Sure, sure," the older woman tittered, and then smiled mischievously. "But you have to admit, he was pretty cute, right?"

Yuzumi didn't respond right away. Kaneki wasn't bad looking, but such things were never her primary focus. Some people were attractive, some weren't. It was often as simple as that to Yuzumi, and Kaneki was no different. He was just someone she'd met and befriended. Why did Keiko always have to turn nothing into something? Yuzumi could only guess.

"You know I don't care about stuff like that," the ginger-haired woman mumbled, eyes on the ground. She really didn't have the time, let alone the motivation to even think about that kind of thing. Besides, with baggage like hers, why would she even want to burden someone with it?

Keiko seemed to pick up on Yuzumi's inner thoughts, because her jovial and trouble-making mood sobered into a more serious one. "Yeah, I know. I get it, I really do. You have more important things to worry about than men." She crossed her arms in front of herself and sighed. "It's just that you seemed to be comfortable talking with this guy. More comfortable than I've ever seen you around anyone else of the opposite gender. I just can't really understand why, you know? All I know is that it made me a bit hopeful."

Yuzumi absorbed Keiko's words. She hadn't been expecting her friend to pick up on that, not since Yuzumi herself hadn't realized it until after. Keiko was more perceptive than Yuzumi gave her credit for. As obnoxious and nosy as she could be, that fact was irrefutable.

It made Yuzumi want to fidget.

"You shouldn't get your hopes up about things like that. I doubt I'll ever find myself in a position to be even remotely ready for a relationship," Yuzumi finally replied, her tone offering no room for contradiction.

Keiko fell silent after that, but Yuzumi could tell there was more she wanted to say to the point at hand. She was infinitely grateful that she didn't.

.

.

* * *

 _Shadows shifted in the pale moonlight. Night had once again fallen upon the busy streets of Tokyo, and it was under the haze of these quiet hours that something sinister was taking place._

 _This time, however, the prey was not so easily taken care of._

 _"You'll have to try harder than that," the male ghoul spat venomously, bloody red irises gleaming within hellish black sclera. His nimble body dodged around the rattlesnake-like kagune that lashed out at him, and he continued to taunt his assailant._

 _"They call you the Devil's Associate," the ghoul growled as they exchanged blows with their kagune, "because you only go after known human criminals like some sort of grim reaper." He swore out loud as the serrated edge of a kagune tail pierced through the flesh of his forearm. "So why the hell are you going after me?" The words were hissed out with inhuman rage, his eyes blown wide open and glaring menacingly at his attacker._

 _"I didn't choose that name," the other spoke in a cold monotone from behind the cruel-looking mask. "It was given to me by the human public." They curled their tails inward, preparing to dive forward again for another swipe. "And that ultimately means whether you're human or ghoul is irrelevant to me."_

 _"What the hell did I do to get on your bad side?" The man knew he was at a disadvantage here – his opponent was unreasonably strong, and he was already weakened from a fight a few days ago. He hadn't eaten properly in a while. This other ghoul was kicking his ass. He stumbled as he took another lash to the gut._

 _"Don't you know?" Their voice sounded so detached and brittle, and one of their hands shot out to grasp him by his throat while he was caught off guard. "The humans call me the Devil's Associate," the hand squeezed harshly, and the male ghoul sputtered, "you compared me to a grim reaper, a being that sends wicked souls of the living down into the fiery depths of hell. I already told you that I don't care if you're human or ghoul." They get up close toward his face, and he paled._

 _"Which means if you do wicked things, I'll come after you no matter what or who you are."_

 _Their prey thrashed against them, becoming wild and desperate. They just watched for a moment, but said nothing. There was no enjoyment in their posture, no maniacal laughter. Just cold, merciless silence. As if they were doing this not because they wanted to, but because they felt they had to._

 _"You –" the ghoul managed to form a garbled sentence around the hand with a vice-grip around his throat, "you're scum. You think you're some sort of vigilante hero?" His eyes gleamed with mockery, even though he was clearly in pain. "You're just another ghoul… like me, like all the others. This world will never see you as anything more than a monster."_

 _Anything else that he may have had left to say never left his oxygen deprived lips – instead all that spilled from them was a warm red liquid that dyed his skin crimson, dripped down his chin and stained his clothes before finally splashing against the concrete below._

 _The ghoul dropped his body, his throat slit in a grotesque manner._

 _"That may be so," they murmured into the air, voice becoming soft and gentle, greatly contrasting with the bloody mess at their feet._

 _Deft fingers lifted the mask from their face, basking in the feel of the cool night air brushing against their skin._

 _"But I'm not doing this for the world. I couldn't care less about that."_

 _Locks of ginger fluttered freely in the breeze. Eyes, one light brown and one black and red, were filled with a sort of longing as they stared up at the cloudy, starless night sky._

 _"I'm doing this for you, Rio."_

 _._

 _._

* * *

 **And this is what I have written so far. Like I said, this is just an experimental idea right now. If you like it and want to see more, let me know. That said, I'll probably be updating it infrequently in the meantime, until I decide what to do with it.**

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **~ AquaLux Divine**


	3. Chapter Two

**So, here I am, back with chapter 2.** **I'm still not sure on the future of this story, but I said I would update as I finish each chapter even if it was a slow-going process.**

 **I would also like to thank everyone who's read, followed, faved, and reviewed thus far. It is appreciated.**

 **I do not own Tokyo Ghoul in any way, shape, or form. This plot and these OCs however, are definitely mine.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER TWO**

.

The little coffee shop wasn't overly busy – in fact, it was rather quiet, which made it easier for the few patrons who were there to relax. Yuzumi set down her cup of freshly brewed coffee and glanced down at her phone. She had a new message. She quickly tapped on it, a bit eager to read what her new friend had sent her.

 _'_ _Hey Yuzu! Have you finished The Black Goat's Egg yet? It's really good, isn't it?'_

One week had gone by since Yuzumi had met Kaneki in that bookstore. They had been messaging back and forth over the course of that week, and she had gradually become accustomed to the fact that she had indeed made a new friend.

He had even started referring to her as 'Yuzu' as well, but that was because Keiko had gotten a hold of her phone a few days ago and pretended to be Yuzumi, telling him that he could call her Yuzu if he wanted. She hadn't had the nerve to tell him that she preferred her full first name, so she just let it be.

She also didn't want to explain that her nosy neighbour and friend sometimes broke into her apartment and snooped around on her phone. She already had the feeling that Kaneki didn't really appreciate Keiko's antics any more than Yuzumi herself tended to.

 _'_ _No, not quite yet. I've made it about halfway through, but it's been hard trying to find the free time to read when I have Keiko dragging me all over the city all the time. It is good so far though, I can see why it's your favourite.'_

The words flowed so effortlessly, Yuzumi noticed. It wasn't like how it was when they were talking in the bookstore – over the phone via texts, it was rather simple. She had always heard that conversing with someone using messages had the tendency of being much easier than standing face to face, but only now did she understand it.

Her phone chimed, signaling the arrival of a new message.

 _'_ _Your friend has a lot of energy doesn't she? I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying it so far, though! I can't wait to discuss it once you've finished it!'_

Yuzumi snorted at the part about her friend and 'has a lot of energy'. It was a good thing Keiko wasn't here – the woman would be throwing a fit right about now if she had been. Yuzumi quickly typed out her response.

 _'_ _That's an understatement. Keiko is pretty much a solar-powered human. As long as the skies are clear she never stops going.'_

Yuzumi sent the message, paused, and then sent another,

 _'_ _She's a good friend though. And I'll try to have the book done before the end of the week. No guarantees, though.'_

She set her phone down for a moment to sip at her coffee and glance around the shop. Anteiku wasn't huge, but it had a lot of charm, something that Yuzumi could appreciate. Her eyes wandered to her coffee – this little shop also happened to sell what was probably the best coffee she had ever tasted.

As she lifted the cup back up to her lips, she found that there was only about a mouthful left, and she frowned. She wasn't ready to leave yet, but she also wasn't about to sit around with an empty cup and take up space. The ginger's eyes fell on one of the shop's employees, and she made a gesture with her arm to catch their attention.

Yuzumi watched as the girl walked over to her table, and pushed the empty cup toward her with a small grin. The girl narrowed her eyes at her and clicked her tongue, but began pouring a refill anyway. Yuzumi watched the stream of dark liquid, the smell of it invading her senses and soothing her.

"Thanks, Touka," Yuzumi murmured, wrapping her fingers around the warm cup. She brought it up to take a hearty sip, and sighed in contentment.

"That's your third refill," Touka Kirishima grumbled at her, but there was no real animosity in her voice. The teenager shook her head at Yuzumi. "I know today's your day off, but you're still here. Don't you have anything else to do?"

Yuzumi glanced up at Touka, blinking at her words. The younger female always liked to act gruff and harsh, but she knew it wasn't something to take to heart. Touka was quite caring in her own way beneath her exterior, though it had taken a while to get used to it.

"I like it here," Yuzumi replied, absentmindedly tapping her fingers against the table. "And I'm paying for the coffee, so I don't see the harm."

Touka heaved a sigh, and Yuzumi knew the girl wasn't completely pleased with her answer. "That doesn't answer my question," the look she received from the ginger was a blank one, and the girl pursed her lips, knowing there wasn't much point in pressing further. "Whatever, though. Do what you want."

Touka left Yuzumi to her own devices, but not before adding over her shoulder, "Your shift starts at noon tomorrow, so don't be late."

"Yes, yes, I know," Yuzumi answered, watching her return to her job. Then she directed her attention back to her phone, checking for a new message.

 _'_ _Ah well, I suppose I can see that…'_ Yuzumi almost laughed at the first part of Kaneki's message, knowing it was his reply to her telling him that Keiko was a good friend. She could almost see the skeptical, hesitant frown behind the words…

…and paused for a moment when she wondered to herself why she was able to picture his expression so easily despite having only met him in person once. She furrowed her brow and thought back to yesterday, when Keiko had looked at her slyly and declared, _"You're on your phone an awful lot as of late... it's like you've known this guy for years instead of days."_

The memory had Yuzumi wondering if it was natural for friendships to progress this fast. She was able to picture Keiko's reactions to things as well, but then again, she'd had more than enough time to get to know the woman. She had only known Kaneki Ken for a week.

"I'm being ridiculous," she muttered to herself under her breath, deciding that she was thinking too much. "Why am I even worrying about this?"

Dismissing the thought, she finished reading the rest of Kaneki's message, _'Hopefully you find the time to finish the book soon though! I have a few more recommendations for you when you're done.'_

Yuzumi grinned at the message on the small screen, reminded that this whole friendship was based around books in the first place. She was fine with that – in a way, it was almost like a two-person book club. No personal information was necessary, and he didn't seem like the nosy type anyway.

As she set about typing back a response, the coffee shop's door suddenly opened, the chiming of the bell drawing her attention upwards. She heard Touka and the other employees greet the new arrival, but as soon as her brown eyes locked onto the newcomer, she felt the muscles in her body tense.

Rize Kamishiro walked past Yuzumi's table, looking as elegant and poised as always. The lavender-haired female's head turned, as if she knew she had eyes on her. Her eyes locked with Yuzumi's, who stiffened even more, if that was even possible.

And then Rize smiled in a deceptively sweet manner. "Off work today, Yuzumi?" The woman inquired softly.

"Yeah," Yuzumi's voice wavered slightly, an unpleasant feeling swirling in her stomach. Her free hand was balled into a fist in her lap, her knuckles horribly white.

"A shame," Rize murmured, "I like your coffee a lot."

 _'_ _What is she playing at?'_ Yuzumi couldn't help but wonder. Rize took a seat at the other end of the room, and Touka went around to presumably take her order. _'Why does she always act like we're friends?'_

Touka came by Yuzumi's table on the way back, and the ginger knew that her discomfort was written all over her face when she caught her eye. 'Calm down', was what Touka's expression seemed to convey, while her words were only a quick, "Another refill?"

Yuzumi shook her head, drawing in a deep breath. "Not yet, thanks."

Touka nodded briskly and left her alone again. Yuzumi tried her hardest not to look over at Rize, instead looking down at the message to Kaneki she still hadn't finished. A soft gasp left her lips when she realized that in her moment of unease, the vice grip she had around her phone had caused a crack to form on the screen.

Cursing out loud, she brought the device up to her face to examine it. It still seemed usable, but it was only about a month old – and a gift from Keiko no less, albeit one that was forced upon her after her previous phone had been run over by a transport truck.

"Keiko's gonna freak," she grumbled. "I'm never going to hear the end of this."

A soft giggle from across the room had Yuzumi lifting her head up to look at the woman responsible for the sound of mirth. Rize was looking directly at her with a small smirk on her lips, as if she had known all along that she was the cause of the agitation that had damaged her phone.

Yuzumi's eyes narrowed. This was why she didn't like Rize Kamishiro – she wasn't nearly as gentle or polite as first impressions portrayed her as. But perhaps the bigger reason why she was so unsettled around her was because she knew exactly who Rize was, the things she did when no one else was around.

The ginger pocketed her phone, deciding to continue her conversation with Kaneki later. It was about time she left anyway. Yuzumi gulped down the last of her coffee, gathered up her things, and stood up and made her way toward the door.

Touka and another of Anteiku's employees, Koma, both noticed her departure. She waved at them as she made her way out, saying, "Noon, right? I'll be here. See you." And with that, she was gone, the ringing of the bell following her on the way out.

Yuzumi knew who Rize was, knew what she was capable of doing – the thought never failed to send a shiver down her spine, though not exactly out of fear. The area around her tailbone itched, and a dark look passed over her eyes for a brief moment.

Yes, she indeed knew _exactly_ who Rize was.

* * *

"H-how?!" Keiko's ungodly screech had Yuzumi flinching away. She quickly snatched back her phone out of her friend's hands. Keiko looked like the world was about to end, and all because of a little crack on Yuzumi's phone.

"I only got you that a month ago! Do you not know how to treat phones?!" Keiko threw her arms up, and then immediately dropped them again so she could point an accusing finger at Yuzumi's face. "That thing wasn't cheap, either."

"It's literally just a crack, Keiko. It still works perfectly fine." Yuzumi tried to reason with her, but her friend wasn't having it.

"Just a crack? _Just a crack?!_ " Keiko shrieked again, "Look at it! It's huge!" She gestured wildly to the phone in question. "It goes from top to bottom!"

"Would you _please_ shut up, sister dearest?" A sickly sweet voice spoke up, before turning downright malicious a second later, "I'm trying to do my homework over here and I can't focus when you're screeching like a goddamn banshee!"

Both Keiko and Yuzumi fell quiet instantly, turning slowly to look over at the kitchen table of Yuzumi's apartment… where none other than Reika was seated, glaring intensely at her older sister, her arms crossed.

Keiko deflated visibly, but was perking up not even a full second after, taking on a stern visage. "Watch your language, young lady! You shouldn't be talking like that!"

Reika's glower turned into a smirk. "What, are you serious? You use much worse language than that on a regular basis. You can't tell me not to."

"I-I am your elder sister," Keiko sputtered indignantly, and Yuzumi began tuning the two siblings out, knowing how this argument was going to turn out before it even started: Reika would be a brat like always, Keiko would get frustrated and flustered like usual, and then everything would spiral out of control and Yuzumi would be forced to listen to Keiko whine about her sister later. It was always the same.

Yuzumi trotted past the two bickering females toward the sink, where there were several cups and a few other dirty dishes piled up. She figured that while her neighbours were busy squabbling, she'd better clean up a bit. There was only a few clean cups left anyway. She was going to need more if she wanted to keep her coffee addiction alive.

Yuzumi lost herself in the mundane chore of washing dishes, and she wasn't pulled out of her daze until the sound of the fridge opening caught her attention. Reika had seemingly won the argument, and was now perusing through her stock of food.

"You have like no milk left," Reika observed, shaking the almost-empty carton. She put it back and stepped away from the fridge, getting a good look at its contents. "Or anything for that matter." The shelves were quite bare.

"I haven't been shopping in a while," Yuzumi brushed off Reika's skeptical stare with a shrug, "And Keiko is always over here eating my food."

From somewhere behind her, Yuzumi heard Keiko cry out in protest.

"… makes sense," Reika agreed, and Keiko's indignant whine grew even louder.

"You two are evil!" Keiko sat up on the couch – where she had been lying face down previously. "You're always ganging up on me! It's not fair!"

Reika cackled like a witch mockingly, trying to further provoke her sister. Yuzumi just shook her head and smiled softly to herself when Keiko took the bait, getting worked up again. Reika had her big sister wrapped around her finger, and Keiko was helpless against it, something that the younger was perfectly aware of.

The two of them may drive her batty at times, but she could at least sit back and enjoy the dynamic between them.

A soft laugh echoed out of the ginger female's throat, a sound that turned into a low growl when she felt something sharp jab her finger under the dishwater. "Ow, hell," she spat, the words slipping out unconsciously.

"What happened?" Keiko perked up, cutting off whatever Reika was saying. She stood up from the couch and made her way over.

"Just nicked my finger, that's all," Yuzumi lifted her hand out of the water and examined her finger. A small cut marred the tip of her index finger. She made a face at it. "It's bleeding, wonderful."

"Let me see," Keiko demanded, standing next to her and grabbing her hand.

"No, it's fine Kei-" the look that came over her friend's face made her stop talking.

"Yuzu…" Keiko looked up at her face in confusion. "There's nothing here. I think you're imagining things." The brunette laughed slightly and dropped her hand.

A chill ran down Yuzumi's spine. Indeed, when she looked at her hand a second time, her finger was perfectly fine, almost as if it had never been cut in the first place.

"Haha, yeah," Yuzumi forced herself to laugh as well, "you're probably right."

Whatever Keiko said after that fell on deaf ears as Yuzumi stared down at her hand. She had been cut – she had seen it and felt it. By the time Keiko had walked over, the small injury was completely gone. Like it had healed in a matter of seconds.

Yuzumi cast a quick look at Keiko, who was now occupied with trying to help Reika finish her homework. The younger sister studiously pretended she didn't exist.

Yuzumi was both grateful for the fact that Keiko didn't think twice about the lack of injury on her hand, but also bewildered at how she had dismissed the issue so quickly.

Surely she had noticed before? This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Many times in the past, Keiko had noticed a bruise or a scratch somewhere on Yuzumi's body, only for it to be totally gone the next day, sometimes even hours later.

If Keiko had noticed anything, she never said. But Yuzumi found it hard to believe that those times had gone over her friend's head completely. Keiko was more observant than that.

So that presented a very unsettling question to Yuzumi:

Why hadn't Keiko ever said anything about the fact that Yuzumi clearly had the ability to heal much faster than any normal person?

* * *

The next day came by faster than Yuzumi would have liked.

Anteiku was quiet for this time of day. The ginger stood propped up against the counter, leaning her head into her hand. She was dressed in the shop's uniform, idly watching the TV that was installed in the building. She felt bored, and it was never a good thing when that happened. She usually tended to start thinking about things, which weren't always pleasant. She was still wondering over whether Keiko had figured out about her inhuman healing, and whether she would be able to deduce any form of the truth from that.

Touka was just as unoccupied as she was – but when she noticed Yuzumi's apparent daydreaming, she came over and whacked her co-worker lightly on the back of the head.

Yuzumi jerked and whirled around to face the other girl, wide eyed.

"If you're just going to stand there and stare off into space, then you can go wipe down the tables," she held out a damp rag, which Yuzumi accepted without thinking. Touka turned away from her, but didn't seem to be finished talking. "We both know what goes on in that head of yours, so do something to take your mind off it."

Yuzumi blinked, looked down at the rag in her hands, and then smiled slightly. "Okay," she agreed easily, moving around Touka to get to the tables. She paused halfway though, and said, "Thanks."

The younger girl muttered something under her breath that Yuzumi didn't quite catch, but she was sure it was a begrudging 'you're welcome' or something like that. Louder, she said, "just get to work. You're being weird."

That had Yuzumi's little smile turning completely genuine as she did as she was told.

Touka was cute in her own way, and Yuzumi likened her to a younger sister a lot. She wasn't sure if she liked her own thoughts on the subject, but she was positive that Touka would get annoyed and flustered if she ever said anything about it, so she just kept it to herself.

She was just working on wiping down the second last table when the bell above the door chimed, and she automatically turned to greet the new customers as they walked in.

"Hello, welcome to- eh, Kaneki?" Her shock allowed for her to utter his name before she could stop herself, which prompted Touka to roll her eyes and finish the greeting in her place.

The black-haired male seemed just as surprised as she was, and he uttered her name in return. "Yuzu…mi?" The last syllable of her name seemed to be added on as an afterthought, as if he wasn't sure if he should call her 'Yuzu' in person.

If she wasn't so surprised to see him, she might have found it funny. But instead, her duties as an Anteiku employee had her straightening her spine up and speaking formally, "Welcome, just take a seat wherever."

She noticed then that Kaneki had someone with him, only because the other male chose that time to lean over and whisper not-so-quietly into his friend's ear, "Is that her?" His brown eyes cut over to her.

Kaneki turned a light shade of pink and indignantly shook his head. "No!"

The blond just shrugged at his friend's response, and smiled brightly at Yuzumi as he walked past her to sit down. Kaneki hurried after him, glancing at her along the way and offering a quick, "Sorry."

She watched them for a moment, noticing how the more energetic of the two kept casting quick glances in her direction as he talked with Kaneki.

Yuzumi jumped when she heard someone pointedly clearing their throat behind her, and she didn't need to glance back to know who it was. She hurried over to the two boys to take their orders before she got yelled at by Touka.

"Hello," she greeted them again awkwardly, "what can I get you today?"

She wrote down what they said quickly, almost making a mistake a few times in her rush, before she nodded and bowed to them. "Your food will be ready shortly." She glanced curiously at Kaneki again, before turning away.

"Ah, wait miss!" The blond male's voice spoke up, and Yuzumi stopped in her tracks, spinning around to look at him. He offered a somewhat sheepish smile, which seemed to alert Kaneki to something because he stiffened in his seat and glared at his friend.

"Yes…?" Yuzumi shuffled her feet, wondering what he had stopped her for.

"May I ask what your name is?" The sudden request caught her off guard and she reeled back a bit in surprise. This was the first time a customer had asked for her name, and she wasn't sure how to take it.

"Hide…" Kaneki seemed to be distressed for some reason, looking between his friend and Yuzumi.

"Ah, it's Kazuhara Yuzumi…" she muttered, inching away slowly.

This Hide character smiled at her. "That's a nice name." He seemed to have taken notice of her discomfort, because his next words were, "sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. I was just curious." The boy laughed, and Yuzumi tilted her head at him.

"It's fine.." she supposed she was okay with it. He didn't seem like a creep or anything. Just a curious customer. "I'll be back with your food in a moment." She announced again, and turned on her heel, this time getting away uninterrupted.

As she walked away, she distinctly heard Hide mutter to Kaneki in an enthusiastic tone, "So _she's_ the other one, huh?" She didn't understand what that meant, but his next words had both her and Kaneki flustered, "She's pretty cute, isn't she?"

"Hide…!" Yuzumi hurried back to the counter, not hearing whatever Kaneki was about to say in response.

Touka instantly noticed her slightly reddened face, and blinked at her. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing," Yuzumi bit out, trying to force the heat out of her face. Damn university boys – why did they always have to be like that?

A little while later, things seemed to have calmed down. Kaneki and Hide were still sitting at their table, talking. Yuzumi had gotten over her embarrassment, but still felt a little awkward whenever she passed by them.

Things for the most part had returned to normal – the shop was calm, everything was good.

Yuzumi had really _not_ been expecting Rize to show up at Anteiku two days in a row.

She watched the lavender-haired female cross the shop to her usual seat, feeling that familiar sensation of uneasiness come over her again. Rize didn't bother to look at her this time, but as she passed by Kaneki and Hide's table, Yuzumi watched with a feeling of abject horror as the dark-haired man's eyes lingered on her too long. The expression on his face seemed awe-struck.

It made Yuzumi feel sick.

She knew what that look meant, and a negative feeling began crawling up her throat. Why, of all the girls to become infatuated with, did he choose _her?_

Anyone but her. Literally anyone but Rize would be a better choice.

No one seemed to notice her moment of internal discord, and Yuzumi knew she had to get a hold of herself. She narrowed her eyes at Rize, who was completely ignoring her presence. Kaneki still seemed a bit star-struck, so she decided to meander her way over there.

"Is everything good here? Would you like anything else?" She inquired politely, acting as natural as she could. She had to get Kaneki's attention away from Rize. Someone like her would be the death of him. Literally.

"No, I'm good, thanks," Hide replied, and then looked around the shop. He said something about needing to head out, and he was gone before she had time to ponder what the sly grin on his face could possibly mean.

Kaneki looked at her then, and then down at the table. "I'm fine," he said, and didn't seem too keen on saying much else.

Yuzumi wracked her brain for something to say. Anything that would make him forget that Rize existed, get his mind off of her.

She hadn't known him long, and she didn't really know him on a personal level yet, but she couldn't just sit back and watch him fawn over someone who would tear him apart as easily as they could trick him into trusting them.

"Would you like to have coffee sometime?" The words were out of her mouth faster than she could think to take them back. Again, she proved how socially inept she was. All these blunders in her social endeavors were really not doing her any favours. "I- I mean, you said you had some other book recommendations for me… I was just… thinking that we could…" she felt her face burning and she wasn't doing anything to dig herself out of this hole. "Ah damn it all, never mind. Forget it."

Kaneki was quiet for a few moments. "I know what you mean," he finally said, "and I think I would like that."

Despite the slightly embarrassed look on his face, Kaneki seemed to be relatively confident in his words. A feeling of chagrin came over Yuzumi.

"That's great then. It's a promise," she fiddled around with her fingers before meeting his eyes again. She sighed. "I have a real way with words, don't I?" She laughed at herself. "With that and Keiko being Keiko, I'm kind of surprised you haven't just decided that you didn't want anything to do with me at this point."

The honesty in her words seemed to shock him. He scratched the back of his head and paused, likely thinking of something to say in response. "You're fun to talk to," he finally admitted, not quite meeting her eyes, "I don't know many other people who like books as much as I do."

Yuzumi stared at him. She failed to notice the way Touka was giving her sharp glares for standing around.

"I guess I just don't really mind," Kaneki decided. "I'm not always good with other people either."

Yuzumi blinked and then found that she couldn't help but feel happy. She felt giddy, almost. It was a strange feeling that she wasn't entirely familiar with. She hadn't felt quite like this in a long time.

"Yuzumi," Touka was right beside her now, giving her a look. "What are you doing?"

She suddenly remembered that she was supposed to be working, and her eyes widened. "Ah damn, sorry." She bowed to the other girl and to Kaneki, before she scurried off.

She couldn't help but feel triumphant when she felt Rize's unamused stare boring into her back the entire time.

* * *

She never should have underestimated Rize. It was about 7pm the next day when she received a text message from Kaneki, and what it said paralyzed her to the core.

 _'_ _Do you know Rize Kamishiro, Yuzu? She says you two have talked a few times. I ran into her at the bookstore today and we hung out for a while. She's into a lot of the same stuff we are.'_

"No," Yuzumi hissed under her breath, lurching forward off her couch. "Damn, what's going on?"

She typed back a rapid message: _'Where are you now? Are you still with her?'_

This was bad. Very bad. Why did she think that Rize would give up so easily on someone she'd set her sights on? She bolted down the hallway toward her bedroom, and it was just as her fingers were closing around a certain item that she received his reply.

 _'_ _I'm walking her home… why? Is something wrong?'_

Yuzumi put her mask into place, the unwelcome thoughts of what could potentially happen running through her mind. She didn't want to lose anyone.

No matter who they were.

Not again.

She felt the fury and desperation rise within her, unbidden – the blood-red kagune itching just beneath her skin, ready for a fight.

"I'm going to kill that binge-eating bitch."

* * *

It hurt.

Strange red appendages had run his shoulder through, and the psychotic laughter of the woman in front of him rang in his ears. Blood spattered against the concrete, and he scrambled to his feet, terrified, in a blind attempt to escape.

Rize was a ghoul. The thought ran through his mind, accompanied by both disbelief and denial – this couldn't be happening. She had seemed so nice and sweet – _too_ nice and sweet.

Something wrapped around his ankle and jerked him upward, clean off of his feet. He was met with the upside-down visage of Rize's face – contorted and twisted in some sort of sick pleasure – before the long tentacle-like appendages tossed him to the side like a ragdoll, right through the metal fencing a few feet away.

The breath was knocked out of him. Kaneki hardly even had time to think about getting up again, because he could hear Rize's maniacal laughter floating through the air, getting closer to him. She chanted his name in a sing-song tone, and through the pain he could feel nothing but fear.

The red tentacles scooped him up again, and they wrapped around him, trapping him. Another searing pain shot through him – he'd been impaled again, this time through the leg.

Kaneki's vision was starting to go blurry, and all the while, all he could hear was Rize's sounds of mirth as she stabbed him again and again.

 _'_ _I'm going to die here,'_ he thought numbly, _'she's going to eat me.'_

It was surreal that this was his fate. He was only eighteen, and here he was, about to be devoured by a flesh-eating monster disguised as a beautiful young woman.

 _'_ _Hide… I'm sorry.'_ He thought of his best friend, his smiling face appearing in his mind's eye. No one could have known Rize wasn't human – he had been charmed by her false sweetness, and it was apparently going to cost him his life.

Kaneki was on the verge of giving up – letting go of the prospect of living, to accept his fate as a ghoul's dinner – until he abruptly felt himself being dropped. A screech rang in his ears, the sound distorted and inhuman. He was on the ground now, the red appendages gone.

He coughed – tasting blood – and cracked an eye open weakly. A few feet away he could make out Rize's blurry form, her lavender-coloured hair spilling down her back. She wasn't facing him anymore, and he squinted against the blood dripping into his eyes, trying to see over her shoulder.

All he could make out was another vague figure, processing that they were wearing a black and red mask. Then he saw the two red tails protruding from behind them, reminiscent of rattlesnake tails with short, deadly-looking serrated ends.

Another ghoul. If Kaneki had felt any relief from the arrival of someone else, now it was replaced by dread, maybe even some exasperation – because really, one ghoul was clearly enough to do him in, but a second one? That was overkill.

But it quickly became apparent that he wasn't this new ghoul's target. In fact, they didn't even seem interested in him.

In the heat of the moment, it seemed even Rize had forgotten about him. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell from the way she was growling that she hadn't been expecting the interruption.

Kaneki somehow managed to pull himself up into a sitting position – hacking painfully all the while – and by the time he brought his attention back to the two ghouls, the fight had already started.

It was hard to keep up with them, their movements too quick for his slowed mental processing to follow. It was taking all of his willpower to just not succumb to unconsciousness.

Suddenly Rize came hurtling toward him – but he couldn't tell whether she had been thrown or if she was moving of her own volition until she stopped, looming above him with her teeth bared. Her face was bloodied, and he could see that she was injured – or was that his blood on her?

Either way, that wasn't relevant. The other ghoul was already on her, rattlesnake tails reaching out to restrain her arms. They wrapped around her forearms and tightened, squeezed until the bones splintered and her fingers convulsed painfully in response.

The red appendages attached to Rize shot out and pierced through her attacker's abdomen, and Kaneki watched the blood from the fresh wound spill out and further stain the already blood-soaked ground. The tails loosened their grip on Rize, and she slipped away from them.

The next instant, both ghouls were several feet away from him again. He couldn't tell who was winning the fight, could hardly even tell who was who from this distance. The long red appendages were lashing out and flailing back and forth in a seemingly wild fashion.

Kaneki wondered how he ended up in this situation, watching two ghouls as they fought. It was definitely something he never imaged could happen to him, not even in his scariest nightmares.

He suddenly remembered something in that moment, and he wondered why it was coming to now of all times – he'd agreed to go for coffee with Yuzumi, hadn't he? A small laugh bubbled up from his throat, and he wondered if he was going crazy or if he was just losing too much blood.

 _'_ _I may not be able to keep my word,'_ he thought sadly, as he squinted at the ghouls. He could feel his consciousness fading further into the abyss, and his head lolled onto his shoulder.

He didn't even try to resist it when he felt his eyes droop more. His perception of the world tipped on its axis, and he realized he was falling over.

In the last few seconds before he faded out completely, he could swear that he heard a voice calling out his name in desperation. _"Kaneki!"_ It shrieked.

All he could think was, ' _That sounds like Yuzumi… I hope she's not hurt…'_

… … …

"Bitch," Yuzumi spat at Rize, her voice muffled by the devil's mask over her face, "if Kaneki dies, I will flay every inch of flesh from your bones. Slowly. Delicately."

They were both panting, both injured. Rize wasn't a pushover – she was strong. But Yuzumi wasn't weak either, and she was fueled by desperation and the desire to save the life of the boy she had met in that quaint little bookstore.

The lavender-haired ghoul grimaced at her. "He's just a human."

"He's off-limits to you," Yuzumi growled threateningly, kinking her rattlesnake kagune over her back aggressively. "Back off."

They both knew that wasn't an option at this point. Rize had every intention of finishing what she had started. Yuzumi had every intention of stopping her.

"Why do you care so much, Yuzumi?" Rize responded, and she tilted her lips up in a mocking fashion. "Is he your friend?"

Yuzumi froze behind her mask for an instant, but it was all that Rize needed. She lunged forward, her kagune reaching forward to stab into Yuzumi. The ginger-haired female avoided it narrowly, but in the next instant found herself being pinned to the bloody ground.

Rize leaned in toward Yuzumi, sneering, "How pathetic. Someone like you… thinks she can be friends with a human?" She leaned back, and relished in the cry of pain Yuzumi uttered when one of her kagune shot forward and dug into her shoulder. "Do you feel guilty? For everyone you've killed? Are you trying to relieve yourself from the burden of murder by playing innocent with Kaneki?"

Yuzumi's fingers curled into fists. "You know nothing," she hissed, blindly lashing out with her kagune, "those people… those ghouls I killed… they deserved it!" She lurched forward and smashed her masked forehead right into Rize's as hard as she could.

Rize released her with a snarling sound, and Yuzumi flipped onto her feet. Her head spun, and she registered that she was losing blood. She would need to end this soon, she thought, as she prepared for another attack from Rize.

However, Rize didn't attack immediately. Instead, she stared at Yuzumi, and smirked.

"You fight just like her," the ghoul purred in a deadly voice. Yuzumi felt a momentary flash of confusion, but it quickly dissipated with Rize's next words,

"Like Rio," Rize's smirk widened impossibly, taking in the way Yuzumi stiffened up like a statue. "Did you learn that from her?"

Yuzumi was paralyzed. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe – she may as well be suffocating.

She hadn't heard that name in so long.

Her face contorted behind the mask, forming a pained look as her chest tightened in an achingly familiar way.

"How do you… how do you know that name?" Yuzumi's voice was hardly more than a whisper, but she couldn't raise it louder. She hated the way she reacted to the mere mention of Rio. She hated how broken she still was over it all, even after a year.

"Rio?" Rize smirked as Yuzumi flinched. "It's rather simple. We're… acquaintances of sorts."

Yuzumi swallowed thickly. She had completely forgotten why she had been so angry, why she had been fighting. Her mind was in shambles, floored by this news.

"I thought you were her when I first saw you," Rize continued, taking pleasure in the way Yuzumi shook before her. "But you're soft – you're too weak to be her.

"Who are you, exactly?" Rize stalked toward Yuzumi, her kagune poised and ready. "Her sister? You are, aren't you?"

Yuzumi didn't respond, but Rize clearly didn't need her to. The smirk on her face flattened at her silence, and she came to stand face to face with her.

"She's dead, though, isn't she?" Yuzumi drew in a sharp breath at the words. "She vanishes one day, out of nowhere, and suddenly you appear, looking like her carbon copy."

Rize laughed cruelly. "It's too bad. I would have loved to pick her apart, you know. I hated how righteous she was. It made me want to vomit.

"But even if she's gone…" the ghoul curled her lip, and her bloody red irises blazed. "There's still you."

The impact caught Yuzumi off guard – Rize's four kagune tentacles curled together and punched right through into her stomach. She flew back a few feet, her breath caught in her throat.

Yuzumi coughed, and a few flecks of blood speckled her lips. Her mask slipped from her face, but she couldn't bring herself to care whether Rize saw her face or her eyes. On her hands and knees, she tried to pull herself back onto her feet.

Another blow struck her before she could catch her breath. By the time she was returning to her senses and shaking the unwanted memories away, Rize was already looming over her and battering her with strike after strike, looking as maniacal as she had when she attacked Kaneki.

Kaneki… she had come here to save him from Rize, but she was the one in need of saving now.

"You're a sad excuse for a ghoul," Rize spat at her while she was down, and dug her heel into Yuzumi's bloody side. "Nothing compared to your sister. At least she stood up after getting knocked down." Yuzumi choked on her blood, coughing and sputtering.

"You can't even save your friends," Rize removed her foot. "Kaneki will die. Rio's already dead – what a disappointment you must be to her. Did she die for you?" Rize removed her foot from Yuzumi's bloodied form, and stepped around her until she loomed over her head. "You weren't worth it… were you? Do you even know what kind of ghoul Rio was, what she stood for?"

Yuzumi didn't have it in her to respond anymore. She stared up at Rize through glazed eyes, her kagune gradually crumbling away.

"A one-eyed ghoul just like her…" Rize muttered, "she hated ghouls, you know, even though she was one herself. You both disgust me."

Rize's eyes were cold. Yuzumi watched her foot come up over her face – the twisted look on the lavender-haired woman's face chilled her.

"Good night, Yuzumi…" the voice rang softly in her ears, and it was the last thing she heard before her world went dark.

.

.

* * *

 **And end.**

 **Thanks for reading, and I'll hopefully see you in the next chapter. Leave a review, favourite or follow, if you would like. It helps me know if people actually want me to continue this.**

 **~AquaLux Divine**


	4. Author's Note

**So I've got some good news and some bad news for you. The good news is that after thinking about it for a while, I've decided to take this story up as a legitimate project, so you can expect more updates for it – though they probably won't be adhering to any sort of schedule. So yes, I will continue this, but it will be slow going.**

 **And that brings me to the bad news portion of this author's note. While I will be taking this on wholeheartedly, I do plan on re-writing the prologue and first two chapters. The reason for this is because I've realized that I've left out some important bits throughout it, mostly by my own mistake. In order to keep writing it the way I want, I'll need to go back and make the changes that need to be made.**

 **Don't worry too much though; it won't be like reading an entirely different story. The characters and the important plot points have already been established, so you can expect those to stay the same. The biggest changes will be applied to the prologue and chapter 2. There will be enough new content after the re-write to be worth reading, so I wouldn't skip over anything to get to new chapters.**

 **I'll be re-writing the prologue and chapters 1 and 2 before I post any new chapters, of course. And I'll be doing it all in the same day, as well, and releasing chapter 3 and maybe 4 along with them. As such, it will be somewhat of a wait before this story gets updated, but hopefully it'll all be worth it.**

 **And now, because you're all in for somewhat of a long wait, I'll give you… whatever this is. Not exactly a sneak-peak, but maybe a look into Yuzumi's mind following the last chapter's events? So maybe part of chapter 3. I don't know, but enjoy it anyway?**

* * *

Yuzumi felt sick. She felt sick to the bone and beyond, not even her still-healing injuries had anything on the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to retch.

He was seated over at the front counter, sipping gingerly at a cup of coffee and conversing with the shop's owner. Touka stood nearby, watching the display with a look in her eyes that said she was still bothered by everything that had taken place that night.

But Yuzumi didn't care about what Touka was feeling. A deeply disturbed feeling of her own was eating away at her insides. Guilt gnawed furiously away within her, sitting like a lump in her belly.

It didn't matter if how many times she was told – what had happened was definitely because of her. She had allowed this to happen, her weakness had caused it. If only she hadn't hesitated and frozen up. It had let Rize take advantage of her moment of vulnerability, and she despised herself for it.

Kaneki, her friend… he wasn't human anymore.

Yuzumi couldn't even look him in the eye. She'd been there, she had been _right there._ She could have stopped it. She could have saved him from this.

Instead here she was, sitting in the corner of Anteiku, watching the poor boy as he struggled to come to terms with his new body. His new life.

She felt useless. Unworthy of his friendship. Ashamed of her own weakness.

She caught him looking over in her direction several times, but each time she glanced away before their eyes could meet. The way he had looked at her when he'd arrived here earlier in the shop, when he had seen her and discovered what she really was – she couldn't get it out of her head.

A mixture of disbelief and confusion, and it had been quick to morph into one of horrified understanding and fear. Then the look of betrayal had risen to his eyes, and Yuzumi felt that one like the anvils that had crushed Rize alive.

She regretted ever talking to him. She should have stayed away after that bookstore meeting, should never have asked for his phone number, and should have never talked to him again. Maybe that would have saved him from this fate. Maybe then she wouldn't have had to see him look at her like that.

It almost felt like Rio all over again. Once again, she had destroyed someone's life, simply because she was _there._ (In the back of her mind, a voice sneered at her, told her that she'd better cut ties with Keiko and Reika, before misfortune struck them too)

The feeling of grief over what was lost was overwhelming to her. It was almost too easy to just sit back and let it wash all of the colour and brightness out of her existence. It was almost too easy to just succumb to it.

But Yuzumi took some sort of comfort in it, didn't let it bother her. She'd been here before. Maybe she never left it. It didn't matter though, not it the end.

There wasn't much happiness left to squeeze out of her anyway, after all.


End file.
